ivory tower

noun: A place or state of privileged seclusion, disconnected from practical matters and harsh realities of life.

ETYMOLOGY:

Translation of French tour d'ivoire, from tour (tower) + de (of) + ivoire
(ivory). The term was first used in the figurative sense in 1837 by literary
critic Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve (1804-1869).

NOTES:

The term is often applied to academia for its supposed preoccupation
with lofty intellectual pursuits. While the term in its figurative sense
is first attributed to the French critic Sainte-Beuve, it is found in the
Song of Solomon 7:4 in a literal sense: "Your neck is like an ivory tower."

USAGE:

"In a democratic system, the true leaders have to remain constantly in
touch with, and reach out to, the people and not remain like a king in
an ivory tower."
C.L. Manoj; The Agony of the Hereditary Turks; The Economic Times
(New Delhi, India); Aug 9, 2010.